Searching for Reynardine

Maria Anthony

Safe and secure in my father's home,
I fretted with a wild heart ready to roam.
I waited long until the dark of night
I slipped into the shadows and out of sight.

I went out looking for Reynardine.
I looked before me and I looked behind.
But like a fool without a lesson learned
I let him catch me while my back was turned.

Why roam you late?
Foot to the path, while others lie sleeping,
High upon the mountain, Reynardine, he calls so sweetly.

Why do you leave your garden gate
To go out wandering so dark and late?
Out on the mountainside late in the day
I thought I saw Reynardine looking my way.

His teeth did shine like the summer stars,
In his eyes was the blood of Mars.
How could I keep to my garden wall
After I'd heard his call?

chorus

After you've climbed your hills of desire
Go back and sit by your father's fire.
But sun and dark you'll be with me still;
Break the chains when you've had your fill.

And if by chance you should look for me
Look inside you and set yourself free.
I'll lead you all the way to my mountain home
But after that, girl, you're on your own.

chorus

Question of Time

Maria Anthony

Coiling smoke from a seasoned briar,
Images rising out of the fire,
Through my window is the cold salt spray,
The turn of the century has come my way.

Cold winter's day so wild and long;
I thought I heard the call of an ocean song.
I waited for you by the sand and sea
But you were just a voice in my memory.

In my mind it's a question of time.
I live in a dream and dreaming's no crime.
In my mind it's a question of time.
I stand at the window and wait for a sign.

And there was a lady that we once knew
And when she sang the day broke through.
Now she's gone and I don't know why
The ocean has called her to meet the sky.

My life she touches but my heart you hold;
One look in your eyes when I'm feeling old.
The wind blows soft across a sea of rhyme;
Sings me tales of a golden time.

chorus

Every now and then I see you smile;
It's just enough to hold me for a while.
And sometimes a whisper when I'm half asleep
Finds me awake with promises to keep.

Well the window is high and the glass is old,
The light that it sends me is bright and cold;
But through it I see what I hope to find--
I know we'll be together for a long, long time.

chorus x 2

Geordie

Traditional, arrangement by UDT

There was a battle in the north, and nobles there were many,
And they have killed Sir Charlie Hay and laid the blame on Geordie.

He has written a letter long and sent it to his lady,
"You must come up to Edinburgh town to see what news of Geordie."

When first she looked the letter on she was both red and rosy.
She hadn't read a word but two when she grew pale as the lily.

"Go fetch for me my good grey steed! My men shall all go with me.
I shall neither eat nor drink 'til Edinburgh town does see me."

And she is mounted her good grey steed. Her men they all went with her.
She did neither eat nor drink 'til Edinburgh town did see her.

And first appeared the fatal block, and then the axe to head him,
And Geordie coming down the stairs with bands of iron upon him.

'Tho he was chained in fetters strong, of iron and steel so heavy,
Not a one in all the court's so fine a man as Geordie.

She's on her bended knee and sure she's pale and weary.
"O pardon, pardon, noble King and give me back my dearie!"

"Go tell the heading man make haste," the King replies full lordly.
"Noble King take all that's mine and give me back my Geordie!"

The Gordons came and the Gordons ran and they were stark and steady,
And now the word among them all is "Gordons keep you ready!"

An aged lord at the King's right hand says, "Noble King but hear me!
Let her count out five thousand pounds and give her back her dearie."

Some gave her marks, some gave her crowns, some gave her dollars many.
She's counted out five thousand pounds, she's gotten back her dearie.

She glanced blithe in her Geordie's face, says, "Dear I've bought thee Geordie,
But the blood would have flowed upon the green before I lost my laddie!"

He clasped her by the middle small and kissed her lips so rosy.
"The fairest flower of womankind is my sweet bonnie lady."

Circle Dance

Maria Anthony

Beautiful Year

Maria Anthony

Well the year of the land runs from winter to fall.
I believe this year was the best one of all.
In December our son came with a smile and a tear.
It's been a beautiful year.

It took me a while to recover from birth,
But one morning when fresh snow covered the earth
I walked through the woods with the wild birds so near.
It's been a beautiful year.

I look around now at the life of the land,
Look at my home and the fruit of my hand,
The friends and the family that we hold so dear
Year after beautiful year.

The rains came heavy with a threat of flood.
We went out to garden in the warm spring mud.
The flowers bloomed early and brought us good cheer.
It's been a beautiful year.

The summer roared in when the air was sweet.
The sun baked the earth in a blaze of heat.
But the trees they were green and the waters ran clear.
It's been a beautiful year.

chorus

Oh, the Green Man loses and Jack Frost wins,
The year draws to a close as the harvest begins.
We'll put out the grain to feed the young deer.
It's been a beautiful year.

The grass grows brown and the trees turn to cold.
We wonder what each new season will hold.
May we live our lives in joy without fear.
It's been a beautiful year.

chorus

Salberta the Jumping Dog

Maria Anthony

Well you might have heard of Martha my dear,
And King who went running after a deer,
And Boo and Blue and Bingo too--
Here's a story, and it's true;
That the best old hound I ever found
Couldn't keep her feet on the ground.
Salberta the jumping dog.

Oh I had a dog and a good dog, too.
She could do things no other dog could do.
She could jump a fence, hop on a log,
Leap to a ledge, that's why she was called
Salberta the jumping dog.

She could jump from the car window into the fish pond,
Could leap into my arms when we're running along,
Could jump from a haybale onto a board,
Over the table to the back of the Ford;
Salberta the jumping dog.

chorus

Old Sal she lived a long long time.
She wound up deaf but she never was blind
And times I knew she was feeling bad
She'd still go out and give it all she had.
Salberta the jumping dog.

One summer day she jumped so high
She chased her soul right into the sky.
Salberta went up but her body came down;
That's when we put her in the ground.

We lowered her down with a silver chain,
At every link we howled her name-- Hoooooooowwwwwwlllll!

Oh now she's flying fast and high,
I see her as she goes by.
Sometimes she sits and she's my friend,
Someone to be there 'til the end.
Salberta the jumping dog.

chorus

Mother England

Maria Anthony

I've been south of Ulster, seen the writing on the wall.
In the North Atlantic, I heard the ocean call.
I crossed the Grampian mountains in the driving rain and snow;
I've been in sacred dwellings where I thought I'd never go.

Mother England, Mother, I'm your lost child,
Mother England, Mother, you know I've gone wild.
Mother England, Mother, I've been so alone,
Mother England, Mother, now I'm going home.

Once I took a journey sitting on my ocean floor;
I closed my eyes and looked out at a far and distant shore.
A rustic old stone oratory stood before my eyes.
I watched the seabirds circling in your never-ending skies.

chorus

I'm going on a journey, will you come will you come with me?
I'm leaving in the morning, come will you come with me?

To the East-- where the morning breaks
To the South-- where the hot sun bakes
To the North-- where the cold winds bite
To the West-- and the Isle of Might

If you're holding heavy baggage, I'll carry half your load,
If you're not sure of the starting point, I'll meet you on the road.
Through the badlands and promised lands, desert, hill and sea,
To the temples and the tenements, won't you come with me?

In times of heavy darkness and when my soul is torn,
You lift me from my misery and on your wings I'm borne
To the hills by the coastline where the mountains meet the sand.
I know that I'll be resting in your green and pleasant land.

chorus

Boys of Bedlam

Traditional, arrangement by UDT

For to see Mad Tom of Bedlam, ten thousand miles I've traveled.
Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes to save her shoes from gravel.

Still I sing bonny boys, bonny mad boys, Bedlam boys are bonny,
For they all go bare and they live by the air
And they want no drink or money.

I went down to Satan's kitchen for to get me food one morning,
And there I got souls piping hot, all on the spit a'turnin'.

chorus

My staff has murdered giants, and my bag a long knife carries
For to cut mince pies from the children's thighs with which to feed the fairies.

chorus

The spirits white as lightning would on my travels guide me.
The moon would shake and the stars would quake whenever they espied me.

chorus

The moon's my constant mistress and the lonely owl my marrow.
The flaming drake and the nightcrow make me music to my sorrow.

chorus

And when that I've got murdered the man in the moon to a powder,
His bag I'll shake and his staff I'll break and there'll howl no demon louder.

chorus

For to see Mad Tom of Bedlam, ten thousand miles I've traveled.
Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes to save her shoes from gravel.

chorus

Rights of Man

Traditional, arrangement by UDT

John Barleycorn

Traditional, arrangement by UDT

There were three men came out of the west
Their fortune for to try,
And these three men took a solemn oath
John Barleycorn would die.

They've plowed, they've sowed, they've harrowed him in,
Threw clods upon his head,
'Til these three men were satisfied
John Barleycorn was dead.

They've let him lie for a very long time
'Til rain from heaven did fall;
Then little Sir John sprung up his head
And so amazed them all.

They've let him stand 'til Midsummer's day,
He looked both pale and wan,
Then little Sir John grown a long, long beard
And so became a man.

There's beer all in the barrel,
Brandy in the glass,
But little Sir John with his nut-brown bowl
Proved the strongest man at last.

They've hired men with the scythes so sharp
To cut him off at the knee.
They've rolled and tied him 'round the waist,
Treating him most barbarously.

They've hired men with the sharp pitchfork
To cut him to the heart.
And the loader has served him worse than that
For he's bound him to a cart.

chorus

Now they've wheeled him around and around the field
'Til they've brought him to a barn,
And there they've kept their solemn oath
Concerning Barleycorn.

They've roasted him o'er the scorching flames
'Til juice ran from his bones,
And the miller has served him worse than that
He's ground him between two stones.

chorus

Well, they've worked their will on John Barleycorn
But he lived to tell the tale,
For they pour him out of an old brown jug
And call him home-brewed ale.

And the huntsman he can't hunt the fox
Nor loudly blow his horn,
And the tinker he can't mend his pot
Without John Barleycorn.

chorus x 2

The Heroes

Maria Anthony

Where do the heroes go when they die?
In my dreams they go to the sky
To ride on the wind until long after death,
To become part of each passing breath,
To liven my fingers, to sharpen my tongue,
To help me be like they were when they were young.

Where do the heroes go when they're gone?
They glide through my mind like a graceful white swan,
To brighten my eye, to sharpen my wits,
To make me see when opportunity fits.
They sift through the memory and find themselves there.
I carry their story for others to share.

Where do the heroes go when they're gone?
They glide through my life and into a song,
They sift through the memory and find themselves there.
I carry their story with others to share.

Down by the river I saw him again.
He smiled at me as he would to a friend.
There in the darkness I heard him again.
He spoke to me as he would to a friend.

Where do the heroes go when they die?

Tianamen Square

Roger Holden

A Long Time From Home

Maria Anthony

I've traveled the seasons, drunk wine and water.
I've listened to reasons, seen blood and slaughter.
I've lived among brothers and now I'm alone.
I'm a long time, a long time, a long time from home.

I once was a child, I was younger than you, lad.
Memories come to me, some are not too bad,
But life's been a dream I could never have known.
I'm a long time, a long time, a long time from home.

I've seen mighty armies drowning in the sea.
I've seen poor, poor people fighting to be free.
I've seen bad fruit borne from a good seed sown.
I'm a long time, a long time, a long time from home.

Was there ever a season when this life held no hurt?
was there ever a dream not ground into dirt?
Can you show me a country to which I belong?
I'm a long time, a long time, a long time from home.

What future pulls weary against such a weight?
What hope for an old child resigned to his fate?
What life in a body that's dead to the bone?
I'm a long time, a long time, a long time from home.

I'm a long time, a long time, a long time from home.

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